Newsletter
Dear Listener,
The month of June is easily my busiest month—but it’s also probably my favorite. The third weekend is Chamber Music Weekend, and this year there were 91 of us who came together to make music just because we love to. A few years ago, my stand partner in the orchestra had begun to play cello just a few days before. This year, I played with a woman who has been playing cello for more than fifty years.
The following week is my favorite, though. That’s when the children’s camp–At First Sight–happens. Most of the staff from WSMC is involved, not to mention a score of other music educators. This year there were 107 students, ranging in age from 6 to 18. Most of the students are from our listening area, but some came from as far away as Maine and Colorado. When I was introduced to the students, I asked how many listened to WSMC, and at least three-quarters of them raised their hands. During one of the class periods, we brought about 30 kids over for a tour. How I wish we had gotten a good picture! While they were all crammed into the studio, I asked them what their favorite pieces were. They love music, and the sheer amount of joyful music-making that takes place during that week sustains me throughout most of the coming year!
Music is never one-and-done. There’s always another depth of understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment. Dr. Shinichi Suzuki is remembered as one of the great music educators of the twentieth century, but more than being a great music teacher, he was a great teacher of children. He saw his students as people—which can’t be said of all great music teachers—and he saw it as his job to use music to create great people! He once said, “If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart.”One of the moms in our community has this to say about the value of WSMC:
WSMC has been a stable foundation for music in my kids’ lives through the years. As a homeschooling family, we appreciate a wide variety of methods to provide cultural enrichment for our children. They love turning on the radio, tuning to WSMC and listening to regular programming. We’ve appreciated the partnership WSMC has with programs like From the Top and Performance Today, highlighting possibilities for growing musicians.
Most recently, we’ve come to appreciate WSMC’s affiliation with local arts programs like String Theory and the Chattanooga Symphony. They love the opportunity to meet and talk with world-class musicians in a local venue.
From the Lucas family to yours, thank you for your support of this radio station. WSMC has a positive impact for children and grows musical perspectives for their futures.
I’ve been learning and studying Classical music for the better part of two decades,
but I keep being introduced to new pieces of music—like Octets by Georges Enesco and
Nikolay Afanasyev—and keep falling in love with pieces I’ve heard many times, like
the Suite from The Tender Land by Aaron Copland. (Click here for a great performance).
What pieces have you (re)discovered lately? Check out our new Spotify playlist where you can enjoy some of our (re)discoveries.
This is going to be a great year! Thank you so much for listening and for supporting great Classical music!
Sincerely,
Robby Raney IVGeneral Manager
Classical 90.5 WSMC